Wednesday, January 10, 2007

$600 is the same price as a PS3

People are weird. You know that Apple just announced a new multimedia phone right? It costs US$600, which is expensive for something that already exists on the market, for years now. The reaction from tech blogs has been pretty much the same, it's a bloody great innovation. This despite being a product coming from a company that has zero mobile phone experience.

And what were the reactions when Kaz Hirai announced the price for Sony's mismanaged PS3 during the E306 conference? Total armageddon. I can't remember reading a single positive post by a tech blog that actually praised the price, and yet we are seeing the exact opposite in relations to Apple.

Sony are the hatred (deservedly too) in the entertainment industry right now, and the £425 UK price, battery recalls, unsporting behaviours and lying press departments aren't exactly helping them. But quite why the same standard isn't applied to Apple, I would never understand.

They being the media darling, for this long too, is pretty puzzling. My guess would be great marketing and PR. Get your PR right and Stevie can pass off anything as innovative.

If someone can convince me that $600 is good enough to part for an Apple branded multimedia phone (most likely made by an OEM manufacturer in Taiwan), then I would have no problem throwing away the same amount for a PS3.